Activities at the secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Calabar, Cross River State, were disrupted on Wednesday by protesting members who demanded the immediate resignation of the state’s party chairman, Alphonsus Eba.
The protesters, who included the party chairpersons and secretaries from the 35 local government areas, padlocked the gate of the secretariat.
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Armed with placards, the protesters accused the chairman of being high-handed and of financial mismanagement.
Some of the placards read: “We are tired of your insolence and arrogance”, “APC in Cross River needs fresh air”, “Eba must go”, and “Eba, your time is up, you must resign”.
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It would be recalled that chairpersons and secretaries of the party from the 35 local government areas, after their meeting on Tuesday, issued a communiqué calling for Mr Eba’s resignation.
The meeting, convened under the banner of Forum of APC Chapter Chairmen and Secretaries, accused Mr Eba of destabilising, destructive, and anti-progressive actions in the party’s affairs in Cross River.
The forum chairman, Kelvin Njong, who read the communiqué, demanded Mr Eba’s resignation.
They also accused the chairman of instigating chapter and ward party officials against the chapter leadership.
They further accused him of refusal to remit the percentage meant for the local government areas and wards from the sales of forms during the 2023 general elections.
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“While the local government areas and wards comprising of 5,778 party officials were given N9.2 million, the state executive with just 36 members took N40 million.
“This is a gross injustice and typical of the chairman. We also have other sundry remittances from the National Secretariat that are unaccounted for,” they said.
However, Mr Eba dismissed allegations of high-handedness and financial mismanagement levelled against him by the chapter chairpersons.
Mr Eba described the accusations as laughable, insisting that the chapter chairpersons were “running away from their shadows” after allegedly embezzling N60 million meant for ward and chapter executives.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that police personnel were on the ground to ensure that there was no breakdown of law and order during the protest.
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